


Tailspin

by ConfessionForAnotherTime



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-11
Updated: 2014-08-11
Packaged: 2018-02-12 17:12:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2118117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConfessionForAnotherTime/pseuds/ConfessionForAnotherTime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Project Freelancer begins to unravel, the people within crack and break.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tailspin

“This is so TYPICAL of you, South. Something doesn’t go your way and you automatically throw any kind of blame onto anyone else.” Wash paced her too-small room, his armored boots clicking on the metal floor. “I already feel bad enough that I’m getting implanted before you. I didn’t decide that, so don’t get pissed off at me for something I can’t change.” His footsteps stopped, turning to face her, deflating in her silence. “South?”

“Get out Wash.” In the course of his rant, she had stripped off her armor plating, leaving her in the black bodysuit underneath.

“Why? You’ve never had trouble stripping in front of anyone before.” He dodged before her fist connected with his helmet, holding the hand tight in his grip.

“Fucking let go of my hand. Wash,” she gritted out, yanking back as soon as her arm was freed.

“Why do you have a problem with me though?” Wash asked as he made no attempt to leave, sitting on the opposite end of her cot.

“I don’t have a problem with you beside the fact that you are here, right now, when I want some time to process the fact that I’m still second best. I’ve always been second best. I will always BE second best, and the fact that you are making feel like I’m coming in dead fucking last when I’ve been in North’s shadow my entire life isn’t really helping.” Her shoulders slumped as she took a place on the other end of her cot, tucking her knees up under her chin.

“I didn’t realize——”

“No, you don’t fucking realize. You don’t think at all. If you took one second to look at the world around you, you would see there’s a lot more going on that what you see on the surface,” she explained as her face flushed, “I’ve suspected for a while that the isolation I’ve been feeling from North hasn’t so much been because he has the AI to watch over, but because I can’t stand the idea of being second to a fucking toaster.”

“Why have you been keeping all of this back?” Wash asked as he removed his helmet, raking his hand through his hair, the dark brown roots longer than she had ever seen.

“Wash, next shore leave, we’re getting you some more hair dye,” she told him, choking back a laugh.

“What? Oh. Hey, I didn’t have time last time. SOMEBODY felt the need to try on shoes for an hour,” he explained with a mocking roll of his eyes.

“Wash, step off my nuts. Those shoes were fucking hot and you know it. Either way,” she continued, swatting at the air, “I keep all of it back because no one would care.”

“South, why do you say that about yourself? I’m sure there are several people that would ca—-”

“No Wash, I’m going to stop you right there. North might care if he didn’t have the lightbulb occupying his time. You might care if you weren’t so wrapped up in the fact that you’re getting a lightbulb yourself in a few days,” South continued, “the only one of us who could even come close to knowing how I would feel about not having one and not getting on is Florida, and good fucking luck getting me to carry a conversation on with him. He would want me to look at the bright side like you’re doing, only with him blowing 100% more sunshine right up my ass. No thanks.”

“Again with the deflecting.”

“Again with you being a self-inflated asshole trying to fix an unfixable situation. CT told me what you said to her after that mission. Shit like that doesn’t make you sympathetic; it makes you an asshole.” South had jumped up at this point, closing the distance between her and the door.

“How does it make me an asshole to reassure someone?” Wash asked, his voice raising as the question closed.

“Because each time you go to tell me that people care about me or I shouldn’t be so hard on myself, you make it about you,” she snarled, her teeth showing, “you want to know what I would like to have some actual sympathy over, Wash? The fact that it feels like I’m being manipulated to reaction to the better treatment my brother has been getting over me since joining this piece of shit program. The fact that I’m being set up to fucking fail at every turn because the Director chose to put me on stealth. STEALTH. As opposed to weapons or melee like I wanted.” At this point it was her turn to pace, the exaggerated click of her heels turning into a stomp. “How about the fact that no matter what I do, no matter how hard I fight, everything I want, everything I try, everything I strive for gets ripped away. Every. Single. Time. Do you know what that’s like Wash?”

He stood there as the pause in the air became deafening. His heart sank as the clasps buckled on his helmet again, the seals hissing as they tightened.

“I didn’t think so. Get the fuck out. Take your pity somewhere else.”


End file.
